AlphaCore Capital LLC Has $599,000 Holdings in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT)

Key Points

• AlphaCore Capital LLC increased its stake in Caterpillar Inc. by 77.3%, now owning 1,816 shares valued at $599,000.
• Caterpillar announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.51, up from $1.41, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for Caterpillar, with consensus estimates now averaging around $444.00 as many upgrade their ratings to "buy".

AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its position in Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT - Free Report) by 77.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,816 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 792 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC's holdings in Caterpillar were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CAT. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Caterpillar by 43,447.3% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,730,259 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,230,239,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721,693 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 2,723.1% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,414,280 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $466,430,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364,183 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 69.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,924,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,060,730,000 after purchasing an additional 1,196,861 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,847,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,483,937,000 after purchasing an additional 724,477 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Caterpillar by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,940,391 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,429,416,000 after purchasing an additional 312,878 shares during the period. 70.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $495.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price target on Caterpillar from $383.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Caterpillar from $475.00 to $520.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group raised Caterpillar from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $272.00 to $357.00 in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Caterpillar from $460.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $444.00.

Caterpillar Price Performance

Shares of CAT traded down $8.13 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $408.40. The stock had a trading volume of 3,415,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,969,034. The company's fifty day moving average is $394.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $355.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $191.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Caterpillar Inc. has a 52 week low of $267.30 and a 52 week high of $441.15.

Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The industrial products company reported $4.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.88 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $16.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.14 billion. Caterpillar had a return on equity of 48.95% and a net margin of 14.95%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.99 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Caterpillar Inc. will post 19.86 EPS for the current year.

Caterpillar Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 21st will be given a dividend of $1.51 per share. This is a positive change from Caterpillar's previous quarterly dividend of $1.41. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 21st. This represents a $6.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Caterpillar's dividend payout ratio is currently 30.72%.

About Caterpillar

Caterpillar Inc manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, off-highway diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives in worldwide. Its Construction Industries segment offers asphalt pavers, compactors, road reclaimers, forestry machines, cold planers, material handlers, track-type tractors, excavators, telehandlers, motor graders, and pipelayers; compact track, wheel, track-type, backhoe, and skid steer loaders; and related parts and tools.